Finishing CC

In science, we have started a unit on the five senses.  After learning about how the ear hears, we did an experiment to test our hearing.  One person sat on the living room ottoman with their eyes shut.  We had glasses to the north, south, east, and west of them.  We would tap a glass with a metal spoon and they had to point where the noise was coming from.  With eyes shut and ears open, we got it right nearly every time.  Then we had to cover one ear and test our hearing again.  Many more mistakes were made.  One big error was when the glass in front of the person was hit, they often pointed behind them.  It was fun to see how our ears worked in tandem to tell our brain from which direction noise is coming.  The kids had to test Todd when he came home from work as well.

Henry guessing 'left' when the sound came from behind.

Henry completed his memory master.  (Giant sigh of relief.)  He had his final director proof early in the week over Zoom.  He missed 12x15, but self-corrected (which is acceptable).  I think we both had a huge sense of relief to have that finished.  At our CC meeting this week, he was presented with his memory master medal.  CC has three cycles (1-Ancient History, 2-Middle Ages, & 3-Modern Times).  We just completed Cycle 3, which is the last time Henry will do it.  He only has two more years of Foundations and Essentials before graduating up to the Challenge years.  

Josiah did graduate!  Seventh grade begins Challenge A which is a good bit different than what he has been doing for the past seven years.  There are seven boys that are moving up together and they are a really amazing group of kids.  It was one of the deciding factors on where to place Josiah for his future schooling.  We will never find such a good group of kids, who get along so well, are so kind, and so helpful.  These kids are the best and we are incredibly blessed that they get to do school together.  Josiah was presented with his very own timeline card and a Challenge A shirt.  

Josiah's very last Foundations presentation was hilarious.  He drew Bob Ross as a Whopperio (his self-made comic characters).  His tutor said that he stood in front of the class and spoke quickly, 'Hello, my name is Josiah, and today I'm going to teach you how to draw a Bob Ross Whopperio.'  Then he got into character and slowed down and spoke in the soft, soothing tones of Bob Ross.  He drew Bob Ross and then added some happy trees to the side.  I saw his practice presentation at home and it was very funny.  I'm glad he ended on a high note.  

The last day of CC is also when the Essentials kids present on their Faces of History project.  At the beginning of the semester, they chose a person from the Modern Age to write about and then worked on a research paper about them over the past several weeks.  We had the boys begin their papers in March so we wouldn't be rushed at any point.  It worked well to break the paper down into many small, achievable parts.  With the paper completed, they had to go back and rewrite it or outline it so they could present it in first-person.  Henry chose Roberto Clemente from the Pittsburgh Pirates.  Josiah chose George W. Bush.  During their presentations, they never reveal who they are because at the end they always finish with, "Who am I?"  Both boys practiced their speeches a lot and had them memorized, but they each went up to speak with their outlines as paper-courage.  They did amazing.  They spoke clearly and slowly enough to understand (Henry).  Josiah, of course, got into character and began with, "My fellow Americans..." which he never led with in any of his practices at home.  I figured the kids would be able to guess who Josiah was because he spoke so much about 9/11.  I wasn't so sure anyone would know Roberto Clemente.  In the audience, however, was one kid's older brother and he knew Roberto Clemente.  

After their presentations, each boy went back to his classroom for a party.  Henry's class had an ice cream party.  Josiah's had a cupcake party.  

Caroline was at CC, too.  She celebrated with cupcakes in her class.  Our whole CC group also did the orchestra song together.  Caroline's class had the part of the trumpets.  She sang, "The trumpet is braying Ta ta-ta-ta TA ta ta ta ta ta TAH. x2"  Last week they had painted trumpets to use as props for the song.  

The next day we were exhausted and completely drained from the events of CC finishing.  We spent our time emptying backpacks and bags and cleaning the school room, and breathing.  I was able to lesson plan for the remainder of the semester so we are ready to finish our year well.  

In jiu-jitsu this week, the kids learned how to flip someone over their shoulder from the kneeling position.  After the person is flipped, the flipper still has a tight hold on the flippee's arm which they roll over the flipped person, tighten up next to their body, and pull the arm into an armbar.  They got the technique down and then practiced it a lot to get it fluid.  All three kids loved the move.  Caroline hadn't even left the mat when she said it was her favorite move yet.  At lunch class, she had Josiah as her partner and she flipped him, rolled him, and armbarred him so smoothly.  Then Josiah did it right back to her.  Henry had a bigger kid as a partner, but he still got it all down.  

Josiah flipping Caroline

Henry flipping a much bigger kid.

This week they also earned more stripes.  When we did karate, the kids had belt tests to move up to the next belt.  However, in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, there are no belt tests (until you get much higher up).  After every 12 classes, the kids get a stripe on their belt.  Then after so many stripes, they move up a belt.  This week Henry earned his third stripe and Caroline her second.  They were very happy to get them.  For kids, these are really encouraging achievements and boost them to keep working their way up.  Part of the reward is that they line up in class in belt-rank order, so to get another stripe solidifies where they stand in class.

 This weekend was a rainy one.  We didn't have to worry about Benson's reluctance to use the bathroom in the rain.  No, this weekend he decided the rain was his friend.  Saturday morning, I came downstairs at 6 a.m. and Todd said Benson had already been outside for an hour in the rain and wouldn't come in.  He did the same thing for me later in the morning, another hour in the rain.  

Todd took Henry out to their sushi restaurant to celebrate his making memory master.  Lots of sushi was eaten.